SHOUT-OUTS & THANKS

Luke — More Than a Baseball Mentor

Luke came into Vinny's life through a mentoring program run by La Grange Park Little League. The idea was simple: pair younger players with older kids who knew the game and give them some one-on-one baseball instruction.

At the time, Vinny was struggling. What started as a half-hour baseball lesson eventually became something much bigger.

Luke has been part of Vinny's baseball life since the early Bandits days. He helped straighten out Vinny's swing, worked with him off the tee, talked baseball with him and became the person Vinny wanted to see whenever something didn't feel right.

Years later, that hasn't changed. When Vinny started struggling during his time with the Rockets, he didn't ask for another coach or another clinic.

“I need to see Luke.”

Luke was home from college for the summer, they got together, talked through what was happening, worked on it—and Vinny got himself straightened out again.

But Luke's influence has gone beyond mechanics. When Vinny faced one of the hardest baseball decisions he'd had to make—whether to step back and repeat 10U—Luke was one of the people he wanted to talk to.

Luke didn't make the decision for him. He helped Vinny understand what was in front of him and left the choice where it belonged: with Vinny.

Today Luke is playing college baseball, and the two still keep in touch. Vinny still goes to see him play when he can, and Luke is still somebody he turns to when baseball gets difficult.

A lot of people can teach a kid how to swing a bat. It takes somebody different to become the person that kid trusts enough to say, “I need to see Luke.”

Whether Vinny would ever actually admit it or not, Dad has a pretty good idea where Luke stands. He's one of Vinny's heroes.

And there's probably no better example of what that old mentoring program was supposed to accomplish.

Thank you, Luke—for the lessons, the advice, the time, and for continuing to be there long after that first half-hour session ended.